Notes

Black Hollow

In the Kingdom of Hallows reigned a nuclear family. The legacy consisted of trophy children, whom had captured the public eye with their beauty and charm from birth, and a strong, deeply in love duet. The king stood a towering seven feet, with hair as dark as an abyss and eyes that seethed like a snake, alike tarnished pride. His Queen had abnormally long arms that she would commonly writhe against her hips anxiously, and with that strained smile she would bare at the populace, the play continued. Like most royalty, the esteemed nobility withheld secrets, the most demeaning to their name was harder to hide unfortunately.

The Queen's first two children were born healthy, both with faded raven locks and gurgling laughs. Then, a bad seed came from the husband and wife's union. A premature, sickly son, with pitch black hair like his father's. Born blind, deaf, and dumb. The night Credance was brought into the world, a curtain was draped over his birth, and the King announced the very next morning that the Queen had lost the baby, which brought upon a pandemic of grief across the great land of Hallows.

As his siblings were showered in honor and prestige, gaining a formal education and learning social skills they would need later in life, Credance was locked alone in a tall, crumbling tower, which lazed off the side of the grand palace in a state of disrepair, until night when he was released to roam the empty castle's twisting halls. His mother barely had time to spare, but many nights she would guide him around gently, almost afraid she would break him. On even the most exhausting of her days, the aging mother spent hours reading to her son, though the effort was futile, she felt it was her duty.

Credance was a mystery. Hidden to anyone else in the palace, he wasn't completely deaf. Fully in one ear and partially in the other. He heard every derogatory, demeaning comment made toward him via his siblings. They had been raised in such a way that demanded the highest respect, and of course they had grown arrogant and haughty.

It wasn't a secret that Credance couldn't see, yet unknown to his family- that wasn't always the case. In his dreams, on the Dreamscape, his eyesight was more than restored, it was enhanced. Everywhere on the plain shone brilliant green, blue, and red hues. The place he always found himself was deep in a heavily wooded area, by a shimmering pond. The ample rock jutting out of the small body of water was surely an eyesore, and the moss hanging off the side of it was thick and deep, deep green. This was Credance's place of peace, and for several years he didn't know why he was allowed such a beautiful gift, and for even longer he pondered if the real world was just as vibrant.

In these obscenely complex dreams, Credance met the drakes who would someday save his life. The pair were named Cebelline and Taro, and they soon took on the role of the neglected boy's foster parents. The lizards were both a dingy coal color, one adorning intense mauve pupils while the other boasted flamelike orbs that glimmered playfully. It was revealed to Credance later in his youth that the drakes were from an extinct species that specialized in necromancy and various other dark arts, yet they no longer existed in the material world. He was terribly saddened by this discovery, and would spend hours upon hours sleeping, or tossing and turning vainly in an attempt to be drawn back into the Dreamscape.

Fortunately, the time the trio could live out together wasn't wasted. Taro taught the confused boy the basics of social skills, and several enjoyable games they could play together. Cebelline focused on teaching Credance the basics of necromancy so he could learn to summon their spirits, and also spells that could keep him entertained, safe, or even offer temporary sight. The latterly mentioned was a drastic change, the growing boy could now view the world he had never seen. In a black, white, and gray light of course, but everything was still lit up in his mind.

For as long as he had lived, Credance had been a burden on his family, a stain on their name. No one believed this more than his father, King Hallows, who had plotted out a way to rid him for good. The man's first plan of action was sending his perfect children and doormat of a wife on a lavish trip around the world, to the bustling city of Golden Peak. The landscape was known for its plentiful life and towering mountains that shone a strange golden hue. By the time the moon had fully been nestled in clouds and the servants had returned to their meek quarters, it was time.